Petraeus believed terrorists behind Libya attack

Former CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus, right, followed by security agents, enters his home in Arlington, Va., Friday, Nov. 16, 2012, after testifying on Capitol Hill before closed-door sessions of the Senate and House Intelligence Committees regarding the Sept. 11, 2012 attack of the US embassy in Libya. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)
— AP

Former CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus, right, followed by security agents, enters his home in Arlington, Va., Friday, Nov. 16, 2012, after testifying on Capitol Hill before closed-door sessions of the Senate and House Intelligence Committees regarding the Sept. 11, 2012 attack of the US embassy in Libya. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)
/ AP

The congressional officials weren't authorized to discuss the hearing publicly and described Petraeus' testimony to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., said Petraeus explained that the CIA's draft points were sent to other intelligence agencies and to some federal agencies for review. Udall said Petraeus told them the final document was put in front of all the senior agency leaders, including Petraeus, and everyone signed off on it.

"The assessment that was publicly shared in unclassified talking points went through a process of editing," Udall said. "The extremist description was put in because in an unclassified document you want to be careful who you identify as being involved."

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said it remained unclear how the final talking points developed. The edited version was used by U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice five days after the attack when the White House sent her out for a series of television interviews. Republicans have criticized Rice for saying it appeared the attack was sparked by a spontaneous protest over an anti-Muslim video.

"The fact is, the reference to al-Qaida was taken out somewhere along the line by someone outside the intelligence community," King said. "We need to find out who did it and why."

King said Petraeus had briefed the House committee on Sept. 14 and he did not recall Petraeus being so positive at that time that it was a terrorist attack. "He thought all along that he made it clear there was terrorist involvement," King said. "That was not my recollection."

After two hours with Petraeus, the Democratic chairman of the Senate's intelligence committee and the panel's top Republican sparred over Rice's televised comments.

Chairman Dianne Feinstein, of California, said Rice used unclassified talking points prepared by the intelligence community and made available to Rice by the House's intelligence panel.

"The key is they were unclassified talking points at a very early stage," Feinstein said. "I don't think she should have been pilloried for this."

She recalled the faulty intelligence of the George W. Bush administration, when it justified the invasion of Iraq by concluding that country had weapons of mass destruction.

"A lot of people were killed based on bad intelligence," she said. Feinstein added that mistakes were made in the initial intelligence on Benghazi but said "I don't think that's fair game" to blame Rice - who could be nominated as secretary of state. "To say she is unqualified to be secretary of state I think is a mistake."

Top Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss, of Georgia, said Rice went beyond the talking points.

"She even mentioned that under the leadership of Barack Obama we had decimated al-Qaida. She knew at that point in time that al-Qaida was responsible in part or in whole for the death of Ambassador Stevens," Chambliss said.

Schiff said that Petraeus said Rice's comments in the television interviews "reflected the best intelligence at the time that could be released publicly."

"There was an interagency process to draft it, not a political process," Schiff said. "They came up with the best assessment without compromising classified information or source or methods. So changes were made to protect classified information."